Spurs-Jazz Game 4: Key player, hidden stat, key stretch

It wasn’t so much Ginobili’s final stat line that made him the key piece in the Spurs’ close-out victory as it was his run of three 3-pointers stretching from the end of the third period to the beginning of the fourth. A 10-0 Jazz run had sliced a 14-point Spurs advantage to four before Ginobili’s barrage keyed a 20-2 run that extended the lead to 21 with six minutes remaining. That was enough to hold off a late charge by the Jazz.

HIDDEN STAT
SIGNIFICANT STUFF

When he came from the weak side and rejected a layup attempt by Utah’s Gordon Hayward with 8:38 remaining in the third quarter, Spurs captain Tim Duncan not only had his third block of the game and eighth of the series, but the 460th block of his playoff career. That moved him past Shaquille O’Neal into third place on the all-time playoff list. He trails only Hakeem Olajuwon (472) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (476).

– Mike Monroe

KEY STRETCH
BURST IN SECOND HALF QUIETS JAZZ

After Al Jefferson’s jumper capped a 6-0 run to pull Utah within 61-58 with 3:18 left in the third quarter, the Spurs erupted on a huge offensive burst that effectively put the game — and the series — away.

Tiago Splitter started the run with a foul shot. Ginobili added back-to-back threes for a 68-58 lead at the end of the quarter.

Ginobili then hit a technical foul shot and another 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter, finishing a personal run of 10 straight points. Splitter punctuated the run with a pair of baskets — a layup and jumper — to provide a seemingly safe 76-58 lead with 8:32 to go in the game.

The Jazz were valiant late in trying to extend the series, but the Spurs’ earlier surge proved to be too much for them to overcome.